A boy poses for a photo as he plays with a homemade toy gun in Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, November 22, 2016. For months, residents of the Iraqi town of Qayara have lived in the darkness from a cloud of toxic fumes released by oil fields lit by retreating Islamic State fighters. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

Canada's Marissa Papaconstantinou makes her way to the finish line after falling in the Women's 200m T44 Final during day ten of the IPC World ParaAthletics Championships 2017 at London Stadium on July 23, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

Riot police fire tear gas at demonstrators during a protest against fare hikes for city buses in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 8, 2016. Brazilian riot police on Friday fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a violent protest against a rise in public transport fares in the country's largest city, Sao Paulo. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson photobombs Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar party. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

The Patrouille Suisse jets perform prior to the Men's Downhill race at the Fis Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland, 15 January 2022. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA/EFE)

The cast of Pose (L-R) Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, and Dominique Jackson speak onstage during the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Elvis tribute artists onboard the Elvis Express train to Parkes NSW on April 21, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. The Parkes Elvis Festival is held annually over five days, usually timed to coincide with Elvis Presley's birth date in January, however the 2022 event was rescheduled to be held in April due to COVID-19 restrictions earlier in the year. (Photo by Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images)